Subject/Research Guides: BS: Business Bachelor of Science: Nonprofit Organizations

Nonprofit Board Oversight Resources

Resources on leading and assessing nonprofit boards, plus publications available to members.

Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice

A Nonprofit Panel guide of 33 best practices for board members and nonprofit staff. Available as a free download for Independent Sector member institutions.

Independent Sector

Publications and resources on best practices for financial management, board structure and diversity, donor privacy, fundraiser compensation, and other nonprofit issues. Some resources may require you to register with a U-M email address or other email affiliated with an Independent Sector member institution).

boardnetUSA

This free online service helps connect nonprofit boards and people interested in serving as board members.

Board Café

Formerly a newsletter, Board Café is now a column within the online magazine, Blue Avocado. An archive of these newsletters from 1997 to 2008.

Stanford Social Innovation Review Web Site

This web site includes blog posts, podcasts, book reviews and webinars. The library subscribes to the magazine connected with this site.

General Information

Nonprofit Explorer
1.1 million tax returns from tax-exempt organizations and see financial details such as their executive compensation and revenue and expenses. You can browse data released since 2013 and download tax filings going back as far as 2001.

Foundation Stats
The Foundation Center provides this free database where you can find data on grants given per year, including the dollar value of those grants, by subject areas. This database also allows you to view data by population groups and recipient location. Additional statistics include aggregate grant fiscal data and top grant givers.

GuideStar - General Public
The free version of the Guidestar.org website offers fewer search options and less information on individual nonprofits. 1.8 million IRS-recognized tax-exempt organizations. Thousands of faith-based nonprofits not required to register with the IRS. Millions of Form 990 images

National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS)
A project of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy (CNP) at the Urban Institute, the NCCS provides brief information on nonprofit organizations including financial information, recent 990 forms, and programming information. Search for nonprofits by name or by location or by National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code.
Also, find profiles of the U.S. and individual state nonprofit sectors and search for information on nonprofits by state, county or zip code.

Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator evaluates and compares nonprofit charities for potential donors. Ratings include financial health, accountability, and transparency. In addition to rating information sign up for a free login account to access past ratings, IRS information, including current and past IRS 990 forms and links to news articles about the charity.

Better Business Bureau For Charities and Donors
Rates and grades charity organizations based on performance, a history of complaints against the organization, and other criteria.

NASCO: National Association of State Charity Officials
Links to state regulatory agencies, some of which include searchable data on state-registered charities.

Idealist
Over 90,000 charities and nonprofits, plus job information

Blackbaud - Nonprofit Industry Research
Blackbaud is a publically traded company that provides software, services, and training to nonprofits.

State of the Nonprofit Industry - Annual Report
Free registration on the website is required to view the most current report. Previous years are available without registration.

The Blackbaud Index
A monthly index on charitable giving. Information can be viewed by nonprofit organization size and by industry sector.